Making Sense of Finnish Band Lordi

The improbable winner of the annual Eurovision song contest for 2006 is a Finnish "melodic hard rock" band call Lordi. The band members dress in gruesome masked-costumes that make them look like a cartoon gang of brawny, deformed Goths who accidentally stepped off of the set of a Rob Zombie movie.

Lordi's winning song entry was a heavy, hooky tune called "Hard Rock Hallelujah." (Anthemic metal, anyone? ) Initial reaction from the Finns to news of Lordi's win suggested that the northern European nation was as embarassed as it was shocked.

According to the band's Web site, Lordi will spend most of this summer touring Finland and Germany. The group has a new CD set for release in the U.K. on June 6 (yes, that's right, on the satanic 6/6/6. Coincidence? Or marketing savvy?), so there will likely be some appearances in Britain as well.

In a BBC interview, Lordi frontman Mr. Lordi explained that the band's influences include Freddie Kruger, the Incredible Hulk and Monster from the Muppet Show .

Posted by Thurston Ali at May 31, 2006 11:35 PM